


life is good today

by magicmissile (trilogycal)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Background Relationships, Candlenights, Day At The Beach, F/M, Family Feels, Gen, Implied Relationships, Inspired by Music, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, TAZ Secret Santa 2017, boo i hate this, but i went through my typical self loathing & abandoned it, i. had something much much longer than this originally, so this much shorter much worse thing is my gift instead, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 13:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13236276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trilogycal/pseuds/magicmissile
Summary: the family goes to the beach for candlenights.





	life is good today

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sonofthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofthestars/gifts).



> I've got my toes in the water, ass in the sand,  
> not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand,  
> life is good today, life is good today
> 
> "toes" by zac brown band

The beach is a fine place to spend Candlenights, Lup thinks. 

This year, it's Merle's turn to pick their vacation spot. The beach has always sung his name, calypso drums and strumming guitars and the smell of margaritas welcoming him onto the warm sandbanks as he fled from his problems. Lup has to admit, she preferred the beach too. 

Right now, the dwarf is plopped down in a lounge chair, the flexible plastic strips brushing the ground under his weight. The fact that his ass is nearly on the ground doesn't bother Merle, though; he just sips at his extra-large margarita, licking the salt off of the rim, and keeps watching Mookie and Mavis bury Magnus in the sand. His young son just heaps wet, sloppy handfuls of sand onto Magnus' chest, while Mavis is trying to shape his legs into a mermaid tail, sketching crisscrossing scales with a straw she'd pilfered from her stepfather's first drink. 

Surprisingly, workaholic Cap'n Davenport is at his side. The gnome in the chair on Merle's right has a similarly large margarita in his hand but isn't drinking it. When Merle polishes off his current one, Dav merely hands his over, and Merle trades their glasses with glee. They're wearing matching sunglasses; Merle's have neon green palm trees mid-swish at the temples. Davenport's have bright pink flamingoes.

Lucretia, on the other side, looks small in the shade of her umbrella as she curls up with the novel that Barry bought her for Christmas. Merle bought her her own pair of tacky shades, a cyan blue pair with oceanic waves on the arms, but they're pushed up to her forehead, forgone in the stead of the reading spectacles she has to wear now. 

Killian and Carey did come with them, squashed into Magnus' wagonmobile with Merle and his kids, but they disappeared a while ago, walking hand-in-hand toward the pier that's relatively close by. They've been married for a few years now, but they still give each other the googliest goo-goo eyes Lup has ever witnessed. It's cute, she thinks, that they're still so mushy with each other; not even her and Barry have maintained their honeymooner's bliss, no matter how close they may be. 

The only ones in the water right now are Taako, Kravitz, and Angus. The latter two are hanging around in the shallows, Kravitz keeping a flame-decorated surfboard from drifting too far away as Angus sits on it, expositing the whole plot of the most recent Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop novel. Something about prize-winning pigs being held for ransom, and Caleb Cleveland has to investigate. Kravitz nods along, idly turning in place and pulling the surfboard with him as he does. He looks good, even when he's waist deep in water; his locs are pulled into a bun onto the crown of his head, something that Taako was a big fan of. 

Speaking of which, her brother is nothing but a speck on the horizon, a bright-colored pinprick against the sea-green waves as his surfboard weaves through the water. Taako cruises just ahead of a wave, hand slicing through the water as the white crest tries to curl around him. Not even the ocean can catch up to him as he dances ahead of the tunnel, zigzagging atop the surface. His board throws up white mist as it cuts through the agua, and he catches a curve in the wave, riding downward and speeding away from the whitewater. He leans to and fro, catching the currents, and jumps over the shoulder of the wave he's left behind, moving on to the predecessor that's breaking farther out. 

Alone, our main character sits at the shoreline, forgoing their colorful cluster of towels and lounge chairs and umbrellas, reclining on her elbows and staring out over the ocean. Not even it can resist Lup's killer good looks; waves crest upon the shore, frothy water reaching out for her. With her legs crossed like they are, one leg crossed up over the other knee and hanging in the air, the sea can merely flirt with her feet, kissing her ankle. 

The world is tinted golden through the panes of her stylish, not-tacky Aviators; the sky is deepened vividly, and the crystal blue water is tinted sea-green as it roils and crashes over itself with the motion of the ocean. But the light is suddenly dimmed as a shadow blocks her sunlight. Lup cranes her head around, peering up at the figure who canceled out the light. 

"Hey, Barold. What's up, my guy?" 

Barry has that kind of smile that seems awkward, no matter who he's with. Even after they lived together for some hundred years, saved the world together, got married together, Barry can't even manage a natural smile for Lup. She doesn't mind the geeky half-smile he has, though; it's part of the charm that draws her to a man named fucking Bluejeans. 

"Can I sit with you?" he asks, gesturing to the sandbank next to her. "If I have to listen to Magnus and Merle argue over the lyrics to When Salome Plays The Drum by James Buffet any more than I already have, I'm going to 'conveniently' 'forget' how to swim." 

Lup snorts at the sheer emphasis of air quotes in his voice. "Talk about a burden on your poor widow, Barry," she replies, lowering her Aviators back over her eyes. "I'd rather you leave me with mountains of fiscal debt. Or herpes." 

Barry takes a seat next to her, splaying his legs out next to hers. She instantly shifts her legs, uncrossing them and draping them over his. The smooth, golden brown planes of her skin are a stark contrast next to his pale, unshaven legs; his tan lines are visible from space, probably. 

"Neither of them knows how to hear lyrics correctly," he sighs. "Magnus thinks it's, 'it's a look-native stay,' whatever that means. And Merle just keeps thinking of Havana Daydreamin', so he's not even thinking of the right song." 

Lup shakes her head. "Well, at least it's five o'clock somewhere," she says sympathetically. She reaches out and pats the rounded curve of his sunburn-pink belly, giving him a fond, sidelong smile. 

"Thank you, honey." Barry's expression stills, and then he sneers. "Wait, that's not even Jimmy Buffet!" he protests, and the sheer indignance in his voice makes something burst in Lup. Her body shakes with giggles, and her elbows give out, letting her collapse on the warm brown sand beneath her. 

There isn't a cloud in the sky as Lup stares upward. "I'm happy," she says, letting a long sigh escape through her parted lips. "I'm happy to be here. With you all." 

Barry props himself up on one elbow, hand supporting his head, and gives her a look of pure, unadulterated love. His twinkling hazel eyes are tinged honey-golden by her sunglasses. Lup's heart still squeezes at the sight of them, looking at her so sweetly. 

"I'm happy you're happy," he responds, reaching to take one of her splayed hands. 

Their fingers twine together, his rough palms chafing against hers, and that makes her feel even warmer than the sun shining down on her.

**Author's Note:**

> for @littlerosyplum on tumblr! i'm so sorry that you got... This. i had much grander plans for this fic, but. Life happened, and i kept trying to chisel this into a Statue of David, but i wound up with nothing but pebbles. i'm srry, i'll probably write something better than this at a later period. maybe i'll finish my first draft and post it with this. idk sorry again
> 
> mood playlist:  
> \- kokomo (the beach boys)  
> \- when salome plays the drum (jimmy buffet)  
> \- you and me (diamond rings)  
> \- toes (zac brown band)


End file.
